EDUC 624: Introduction to College Student Development
Summer 2014
EDUC 624: Introduction to College Student Development
University of Redlands Summer 2014Wednesdays 5:30-8:30pmGregory Hall, Room 175
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. -- Traditional(Abraham Maslow)
Instructor:Office Hours:
David Kasch By appointment only
310-425-3530 (Google Voice)
Course Description:
This course serves as an introduction to the prominent theories of American college student development. Over the course of the semester we will discuss college student development in four major groupings: holistic development, psychosocial development, cognitive development, and social identity development. Through this course each of you will have an opportunity to develop your own understanding and interpretation of college student development as well as gain a working knowledge of some of the most influential theories.
Course Objectives:
- To become familiar with the major theories, theorists, and groupings of American college student development.
- To explore links and connections between specific theories and groups of theories to promote a richer understanding of student development.
- To develop your own interpretations of what college student development is, how it occurs, and why it is important to our work in higher education and student affairs.
- To positively contribute to the learning and development of each other in and out of class.
- To practice being good peers and good colleagues through thoughtful preparation and discussion.
Major questions guiding our inquiry of student development
- How do students develop?
- What are the signifiers of development?
- For whom, what, and why do they develop?
- What does development mean? To students? To researchers? To society?
- How does students’ development reflect (or not) changes in their meaning making?
Learning Community Expectations:
The goal of these learning community expectations is to create a positive, collaborative, and mutual learning environment. Throughout the semester we will revisit and refine what these expectations mean for us as a class.
A Safe and Comfortable Environment
Given the nature of student development theories, class discussions are likely to become personal and sensitive. This may include topics and theories that are personally and emotionally difficult to discuss. At the beginning of the course, we will establish some common ground rules that promote a safe and comfortable environment in which everyone feels welcome and able to contribute to class and promotes the learning environment needed to share and explore these potentially challenging and difficult topics.
Share Your Experiences
I approach this course with the philosophy that you are already knowledgeable experts in your own experiences. Your personal knowledge and experiences provide an invaluable foundation for deeper learning about college student development, and as such, I hope that you will actively use your personal and professional experiences to enrich class discussions and your formal course work.
Preparation & Participation
Being physically and mentally present in class is one of the most important contributions you can make to your experience and your classmates’ experience in this class. I expect each of you to come to class on time and prepared to participate in a thoughtful and critical discussion of the readings from that week. I have found students’ active participation makes the difference between exciting classes and classes that drag.
Course Texts:
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Additional readings on Moodle, arranged by reading date
Learning Assessment and Grading:
Your final grade for this class will come from the summation of grades for individual assignments based on the following percentages:
Class Participation20%Ongoing
Film Reflections20%Weeks 4-11
Student Development Theory in Film15%July 9
Student Development Theory Map10%July 30
Student Development Theory Paper35%July 30
Grading Scale
Excellent work, with little room for improvement
A/4.0:100 – 94A-/3.793 – 90
Good work, with a few minor problems or deficiencies in terms of content or presentation
B+/3.3:89 – 87B/3.0*86 – 83B-/2.782 – 80
Average work, with more than one serious flaw in terms of content or presentation
C+/2.3:79 – 77C/2.0**76 – 73C-/1.772 – 70
Below average work, with substantial problems in the clarity and presentation of content
D/1.0:69 – 60
*Please note that grades below 3.0 indicate a problem. As a graduate student your cumulative grade point average must remain at 3.0 or higher, so grades lower than this can affect your degree and/or credential receipt.
**Grades below 2.0 are not acceptable for credit toward a degree or credential.
Evaluation Criteria
Unless otherwise stated, I will use the following basic rubric to evaluate your formal assignments.
- Incorporation and demonstration of your own ideas (e.g., clear presentation of the components of your study, development of your own ideas)(40%)
- Soundness of arguments and use of evidenceto support claims (e.g., incorporation of concrete examples from your data and citations/references to relevant research literature) (40%)
- Writing style and mechanics (e.g., organization and coherence, clarity of writing and ideas, word choice, and lack of spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors)(20%)
Assignments:
Class Participation (20%):Due: All Semester
I expect every student to come to class on time and ready to be an active contributor (both in frequency and engagement with the material). This means being prepared to discuss the readings thoughtfully and critically, having prepared questions or concerns about the reading, and having spent time developing your thoughts about how the theories apply to students. This also means being free of non-class distractions. Students will receive participation points as whole letter grades that reflect the following percentages (A=95%, B=85%, C=75%, D=65%). In the case of exceptional participation students will receiveadditional percentage points. Habitual lateness or missing more than one class will reduce your class participation grade and possibly your overall course grade.
Film Reflection Papers (20%):Due:Weeks 4through11
Starting week four, you will submit weekly two-page reflectionpapers (approximately 500 words) relating student development theory to films we watch for class. The purpose of this assignment is to give you some experience and practice applying the theories we study to “real” individuals. These papers are also a chance to reinforce and build upon on class discussions of the film. Your papers are due the week after we discuss the theories related to each film. For example, the paper discussing theories from week three is due week four. At the end of the semester, I will drop your lowest paper score and base your total grade for this assignment on your six best papers.
Film Reflection Writing Prompt
Using one of the theories discussed in class, describe the development of one character from the film. Be sure to identify which theory and which character you are discussing and include all of the major elements of the theory as you share your reasoning about:
a)Where would you map the character at the beginning of the film?
b)Where would you map him/her at the end of the film?
c)What causes him/her to change and develop?
d)How does s/he change?
Student Development Theory in Film: 15%Due: July 9th
For this assignment, you will write a 10-page paper applying three different theories, including one we did not discuss in class, to three different characters in any film of your choice. In your introduction, you should identify the film, the characters, and the theories that you will associate with each character. Your paper should follow the model of the in class discussions of development depicted in film and address the following questions:
a)How do the characters change throughout the film?
b)What happens to them and how do we know they change?
c)What meaning do the characters seem to make of these changes?
d)How does their development reflect changes in meaning making?
You may use a film previously assigned for class; however, you may not use that film in conjunction with the theories presented with that film in class. For example, you may not use the film from week three and the theories from week three, but you may use the film from week three and the theories from week four.
I will grade your paper based on your originality of thought, demonstration of theory comprehension, grammar and spelling precision, and the accuracy of your application of theory to the characters in the film.
Student Development Theory Map (10%):Due: July 30th
As part of your final assignment for the class, you will create a graphic that visually relates four to seven different theories of student development. Your graphic should offer a robust representation of how your chosen theories link together and how they form a coherent or incoherent whole. You are welcome to choose which theories you discuss; however, you may not use more than one theory from any one week of class. A successful map will allow an inexperienced reader to comprehend the relationships between the theories on the map.
Note: My description of the map is left intentionally vague in order to allow you maximum freedom to create a visual representation that makes the most sense to you. Throughout the course, we will look at a number of mapping examples; you are welcome to adopt one of these strategies or create your own.
Student Development Theory Paper (35%):Due: July 30th
As the second part of your final assignment, you will write a 15-page paper explaining how the theories in your map/graphic fit together. I will base your grade for this paper on how well you:
- Discuss key characteristics and synthesize the theories in your map
- Offer an informed interpretation of how your theories relate to each other
- Discuss how the theories depict similar and dissimilar forms of student development
Think of this paper as your opportunity to explain your map to someone who may be unfamiliar with college student development theory and unfamiliar with the academic jargon related to student development theory. A successful paper will convey your major ideas with clarity and concision to an inexperienced reader.
Note: The majority of your assignments are due in the last third of the course. In order to succeed in this class, you should plan ahead and being crafting ideas for your final assignments in and around week 7.
Course Policies
Deadlines
All assignments are due on the date assigned. Late assignments will receive consideration based on the rationale for the lateness but will not necessarily receive credit.
Written Assignments & APA Format
Writing is an important part of professional practice, and this class is an opportunity for you to refine your writing skills. As such, I expect your papers to be of professional quality. This means polishing your major ideas and correcting all spelling, grammatical, and typographical errors before you submit your paper. This also means that I expect your papers to follow the rules of Standard English usage.
Unless otherwise noted, papers are due to me electronically () by 5:30 pm on the due date. Please use the following format when naming your documents:
Last Name – Name of Assignment.
Formal written assignments must follow the format guidelines in the sixth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. This includes the grammatical and language usage rules suggested by the APA. Additionally, formal assignments must be double-spaced, with 12-point font, one-inch margins and in Times New Roman font.
An excellent resource for questions on APA guidelines is the Purdue Online Writing Lab:
Attendance/Absence/Tardiness policy:
Each student may miss one class without academic penalty. Missing more than one class may result in a lower course grade, and missing two consecutive classes may result in being administratively dropped from this course. Being tardy more than once will be treated as an absence. Persistent tardiness will result in a lower course grade.
Academic Integrity and Honesty
It is my expectation that your work will demonstrate the highest levels of academic integrity and honesty. This includes careful attention to accurate and thorough citations. I am happy to help with any questions or concerns about correct reference and document citation. That being said, plagiarism and academic dishonesty will not be tolerated, and this course will strictly follow the academic integrity and honesty policies outlined in the University’s catalog.
University Drop/Withdrawal Policy
This class will follow the University’s standard drop/withdrawal policy. Please see link above for the current policy.
Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:
Please let me know in advance if you have a documented disability that is relevant to this course. I am more than happy to work with you to discuss appropriate academic accommodations.
Religious Observances:
Please let me know in advance if you have a schedule conflict due to a religious observance. I am more than happy to work with you to discuss appropriate academic accommodations.
Phones and food:
Cell phones should be quiet and put away. Food is okay, as long as it does not become a big production.
Some Caveats on College Student Development
Studying Theory is Time Intensive
The study of college student development theory is a time intensive process. The theories and ideas behind the theories may be new to many of you and will take time to begin to internalize and make sense of. There is also a lot of ground to cover and a lot of articles, studies, and books to read. Be sure to give yourself enough time to work through the readings and the major ideas of the theories we study. Class time will be a focused time to navigate the course material, but you will need to dedicate sufficient time outside of class to work at your own pace in learning this material.
Too Much to Cover It All
College student development has undergone significant change and expansion in the last 50 years. Given the relatively brevity of the semester, we will not be able to cover everything. Instead this course will offer you an introduction and survey of the most influential theories. This is not to suggest that this course will cover all there is or all there is that is important.
A Narrow Foundation and a Narrow Focus
When we talk about college student development in this course, we are really talking about American college student development. The significant and influential theories in this field often focus on students with a tacit emphasis on socio-cultural privilege (e.g., upper/upper-middle class, White, heterosexual, male, Christian, able-bodied, etc.). Although many contemporary theories are exploring what development means for broader ranges in student diversity, the historical foundations of student development theory are relatively narrow. As such we may not venture as deeply into some areas as you would like, I am happy to work with you to help you explore those areas further.
Applying Theory to Practice is Difficult
Within student affairs, there is a robust body of literature and discussion about applying research and theoretical knowledge to practice. Though we will make honest efforts to consider and discuss the application of these theories to our work with students, it simply cannot be the major focus of the class. We will, however, spend time exploring the practical implications and significance of the theories we study. This course is meant to provide you with some intellectual and interpretive tools to succeed in your professional work, and we will be sure to spend time addressing that issue.
Course Schedule
Unit I / Introduction and Overview of Student Development TheoryWeek 1
5/7/14 / Introduction to Theory / Film: PCU (1994)
Rhoads, R. A., & Black, M. (1995). Student affairs practitioners as transformative educators: Advancing a critical cultural perspective. Journal of College Student Development, 36(5), 413-421.
Stebleton, M. J., Soria, K. M., & Mixon, J. D. (2011). Media review: Facebook me: Applying "The Social Network" film to student development theory and practice. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 48(4), 505-521.
Week 2
5/14/14 / Overview of Student Development
Theory / Film: The Graduate (1967)
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Definitions and historical roots of student development. Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 5-21). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Using student development theory. Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 22-40). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2009). The activity of meaning making: A holistic perspective on college student development. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 621-639.
Unit II / Holistic Forms of Student Development
Week 3
5/21/14 / Holistic Development: Self-Authorship / Film: Bottle Rocket (1996)
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Development of self-authorship Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 176-193). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Love, P. G., & Guthrie, V. L. (1999a). Kegan's orders of consciousness. New Directions for Student Services, 88, 65-76.
Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2001). Complex lives. In Making their own way: Narratives for transforming higher education to promote self-development (pp. 3-36). Sterling, VA: Stylus.
King, P. M., & Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2005). A developmental model of intercultural maturity. Journal of College Student Development, 46(6), 571-592.
Week 4
5/28/14 / Holistic Development: Integrative Theories
Paper 1:
Self-Authorship / Film: Real Women Have Curves (2002)
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Ecological approaches to college student development. Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 157-175). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Abes, E. S., Jones, S. R., & McEwen, M. K. (2007). Reconceptualizing the model of multiple dimensions of identity: The role of meaning-making capacity in the construction of multiple identities. Journal of College Student Development, 48(1), 1-22.
Renn, K. A. (2003). Understanding the identities of mixed-race college students through a developmental ecology lens. Journal of College Student Development, 44(3), 383-403.
Unit III / Individual Forms of Student Development
Week 5
6/4/14 / Cognitive Development
Paper 2:
Integrative Theories / Film: The Paper Chase (1973)
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Perry’s theory of intellectual and ehtical development. Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 82-98). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Later cognitive structural theories. Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 119-135). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Love, P. G., & Guthrie, V. L. (1999b). Perry's intellectual scheme. New Directions for Student Services, 88, 5-15.
Week 6
6/11/14 / CLASS CANCELLED
Week 7
6/18/14 / Psychosocial Development
Paper 3:
Cognitive
Development / Film: Pitch Perfect (2012)
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Psychosocial identity development Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 47-63). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Chickering, A. W., & Reisser, L. (1993). The seven vectors Education and identity (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Josselson, R. (1996). Identity.Revising herself: The story of women's identity from college to midlife. New York: Oxford University Press.
Week 8
6/25/14 / Social Identities: Race/Ethnicity
Paper 4: Psychosocial
Development / Film: The Great Debaters (2007)
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Racial identity development Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 252-270). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Ethnic identity development Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 271-287). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Multiracial identity development.Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 288-304). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Cross, W. E., Jr. (1971). The Negro-to-black conversion experience. Black World, 20, 13-27.
BREAK
7/2/14 / Independence Day / No Class / No Readings
Week 9
7/9/14 / Social Identities: Gender
Theory In Film Paper
Paper 5: Race/Ethnicity / Film: The House Bunny (2008)
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Gender and gender identity development Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 327-345). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Harris, F. III (2010). College men’s meaning of masculinities and contextual influences: Toward a conceptual model. Journal of College Student Development, 51(3), 297-318
Bilodeau, B. (2005). Beyond the gender binary: A case study of two transgender students as a midwestern research university. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Issues in Education, 3(1), 29-44.
Week 10
7/16/14 / Social Identities: Sexuality
Paper 6: Gender / Film: TransGeneration, ep 1-3 (2005)
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Sexual identity development Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 305-326). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
D'Augelli, A. R. (1994). Identity development and sexual orientation: Toward a model of lesbian, gay, and bisexual devleopment. In E. J. Trickett, R. J. Watts & D. Birman (Eds.), Human diversity: Perspectives on people in context (pp. 312-333). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Abes, E. S. & Kasch, D. (2007). Using queer theory to explore lesbian college students’ multiple dimenions of identity. Journal of College Student development, 48(6), 619-636.
Week 11
7/23/14 / Moral and Faith Development
Paper 7: Sexuality / Film: Good Will Hunting (1997)
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Moral development theory Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 99-118). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Development of faith and spirituality Student development in college: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 194-211). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Parks, S. (1986). The journey toward mature adult faith: A model. The critical years: Young adults and the search for meaning, faith and commitment. San Francisco: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers.
Rockenbach, A. B., Walker, C. R., & Luzader, J. (2012). A phenomenological analysis of college students’ spiritual struggles. Journal of College Student Development, 53(1), 55-75.
Unit IV / Student Development Theory in Practice
Week 12
7/30/14 / Learning Partnerships Model
Theory Map & Paper / Film: Accepted (2006)
Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2004). Learning partnerships model: A framework for promoting self-authorship. In M. B. Baxter Magolda & P. M. King (Eds.), Learning partnerships: Theory and models of practice to educate for self-authorship (pp. 37-62). Sterling, VA: Stylus.
References